Paper yarn and process of making same.



B. S. SUMMERS. PAPER YARN AND PROCESS OF MAKQNG SAME.

APPLICATION men FEB. 63. m7.

Patented July 2, 1918.

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BJEBTBAND S. SUMMERS, 015 PORT HURON, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR TO THE NATIONAL FIBER TEXTILE COMPANY, OF NEENAH, -WIl'EiClONS1N, A CORPORATION OF WISCONSIN.

rerun Ynniv AND rnocnss or MAKING SAME.

retinas.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented. July 2, twill.

Application filed February 6, 1917. Serial No. 146,998.

'b all whom it may concern: 7

lie it known that I, BERTRAND S. SUM- Mnns, a citizen of the United States, residing at Port Huron, in the county of St. Clair and State of Michigamhavc invented certain new and useful Improvements in Paper Yarns and Processes of Making Same, of which the following is a specification. p My invention relates to improvements in paper yarn and process of n'iaking same, and has particular reference to a paper yarn used in the manufacture of rugs or carpets.

Prior tomy invention, in the manufacture of paper carpets or rugs by the usual weaving processes, many difficulties have been encountered, among which may be noted the trouble in causing the Weft threads to 1 )roperly cover'the strings or other 'i'naterial of which the warp is composed. Such rugs, before my invention, have also been objectionable for the reason that the rug did not possess the required resiliency or springy effect which is naturally associated with a rug or carpet in the mind of the purchaser or consumer. The principal object of my invention is to provide a paper yarn of such character that when the yarn is woven into a rug,

all

the warp strands willbe properly concealed or covered'loy the weft threads, While at the same time the rug will possess the desired soft, resilient, or springy characteristics.

In carrying out my invention, I first take a roll of paper as it comes from the mill, slit the same into ribbons of the necessary width, and rewind said ribbons upon short tubes into the form of disks of'paper ribbon. During or prior to the re-Winding of the paper ribbon into disk form, the strip is moistened with water, any usual mechanism for effecting such moistening being employed. After the paper ribbon has been lG-WOtllld into disk form and while it is still damp, the strip is conducted through a funnel-shaped condensing device of usual construction and is twisted tightly by a well known form of spinning or twisting'appara'tus, thereby causing it to assume the form of a smooth cord. The damp cord, according to the old practice, was simply wound onto spools, allowed to dry, and then used for weaving the rug or for other purposes. Said dried cord or yarn is practically smooth as to it exterior surface or finish, is almost devoid of resiliency, and is hard, inflexible, and inelastic.

The process so far described is one which is well known in the art, and, as such, is not claimed as my invention, which resides in the further treating of the paper cord in order to impart to it the desired characteristics.

According to my improved process, the damp cord, which has been wound onto spools after twisting, is preferably permitted to dry out sufiiciently for the paper to take a permanent set, so that during any subsequent treatment the'paper will. retain the crinkles or striations which have been imparted to the paper by the first twisting. After the yarn has dried out sufficiently on the spools, it is rewound upon other spools, and, during said re-winding operation, the yarn is passed through a twisting apparatus which is arranged to take out the original. twist and impart to it a twist in the reverse direction. This second or reverse twisting of the yarn does not resultin the production of yarn which simply possesses a reverse twist, and is in no other respect differ ent from the original yarn, but, on the contrary, a yarn having characteristics which differ very materially in essential respects from that produced by the first twisting of the yarn while the paper is in a damp con dition. My improved yarn made in this way retains the original crinkles, folds, or striations present in theyarn after the first twisting, and, since the re-twisting has been ac-- 9o complished in the reverse direction, such markings are exposed, made prominent, and

project from the exterior surface of the retwisted yarn, in addition to which, by reason of the markings crossing each other in the interior of the re-twisted cord, the body thereof contains voids or air spaces, there'- by causing a substantial increase in the diameter of the yarn and imparting to it fieXibility, resiliency, and elasticity to a very 10a marked degree. Such improved yarn possesses all those characteristics which are desirable in a practical and efficient weaving material for the purpose described.

In the drawings- Figure 1 shows a weft cord composed of two strands of my improved-yarn twisted together;

Fig. 2 a. plan view of a section of paper ribbon or strip from which the yarn is manufactured Fig. 3' is a sectional" view of the strip shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of a section of cord formed by the initial condensing and twisting of the strip shown in Fig. 2;

Fig..5..is" a sectional view of the cord shown in Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a plan view of a length of my improved yarn completed; and

Fig. 7 is a sectional view of the yarn shown in Fig. 6. p

In View of the description of the salient features of the process of my invention which has gone before, the invention will be readily understood upon reference to the said drawings. The strip 10 is ,theribbon of paper which is wound into disk form in moistened condition before receiving its 7 initial twist. 11 is the same strip after having been condensed and twisted into cord form. A close inspection of Figs. 4 and. 5

will show that the cord 11 is rod-like, its surface is quite smooth and free from projections or cavities, and, as to, its interior, is quite compact andfree from voidsor air spaces.

It will be seen that the completed yarn 12, shown in Figs. 6 and 7, is considerably greater in diameter than the cord 11. Its

interior is full of air spaces or voids, caused,

by the crossing of the originalipaper markings caused. by the first twisting of the paper, and the exteriorsurface of the yarn shows the markings formed by the first twisting.

In practice, when. using the yarn for weaving purposes, I prefer to twist up-a pair of the strands 12 intoa duplex. yarn 13, which constitutes the actual weft material. This enables me to select strands of different colors and produce rugs of various color designs and different; patterns. Such a duplex yarn can be very successfully pro- .duced from a pair of strands of my im-.

proved yarn, for the reason that the spongy or elastic character of the individual strands causes them to bed together, forming a much more uniform and smoother weaving material than if the individual strands were hard or inelastic.

The scope of the invention is not limited to include the precise details herein described, but must be determined by rcference t0 the appended claims.

I claim 1. The improvement in the process of making yarn from paper strip, which consists in condensing the strip, moistening and twisting the same, permitting a substantial percentage of the moisture to evaporate, and subsequently twisting the'product in the re- Verse direction.

2. The improvement in. the process of making yarn from paper ribbon, which consists in moistening the ribbon, condensing and twisting the same while in moistened condition, permitting the greater part of the contained moisture to evaporate, thereby giving permanence to the markings imparted to the strip by the twisting process, and subsequently twisting the product in the reverse; direction, reverse twisting being con-- tinued sufliciently to impart to the product a permanent twist opposite to the first twist.

3. The improvement in the process of making yarn from a pair of paper strips, which consists in moistening, individually condensing and twisting the strips while moist, permitting the greater part of the moisture to evaporate, individually twisting the twisted strips in the reverse direction, and pairing the same by twisting them together.

4. As an article of manufacture, twisted paper yarn, in the surface of which are formed permanent twist markings formed by pre-twisting the yarn in a direction reverse to the yarn twist, while in slightly moistened condition.

BERTRAND S. SUMMERS.

copies of thin-patent may be ob tai ned for fi vecents each, by addressing. the Commissioner of Patznh,

- p Washington, D. 0. 

